This blog, Criminal HIV Transmission, a collection of published news stories, opinion, and resources about so-called 'HIV crimes', has now been incorporated into the new HIV Justice Network website, and will not be updated as of November 15th 2012.
For more information about the HIV Justice Network, please visit http://www.hivjustice.net

Friday, 27 April 2012

Correction: Louis Gay tells me that he is not the first gay man to be prosecuted in Norway.

I am the first one to be prosecuted for practicing "safer sex" (oral sex, only. with no condom and no contact with sperm or precum), without transmitting any virus!

Original post: Yesterday, Bent Høie (Conservative), the leader
of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services, raised the issue of HIV in the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget). He was concerned about the rise in new diagnoses in the country, and discussed increases in unprotected sex amongst gay men and other men who have sex with men, as well as lack of knowledge of HIV and HIV-related stigma within broader Norwegian society.

Notably, he linked these concerns with Section 155 of the Norwegian Penal Code.
This infectious disease law enacted in 1902 is known as the ‘HIV paragraph’
since it has only ever been used to prosecute sexual HIV exposure or
transmission. By placing the burden on HIV-positive individuals to both disclose HIV status
and insist on condom use, the law essentially criminalises all
unprotected sex by HIV-positive individuals even if their partner has been
informed of their status, and consents. There is no distinction between penalties for HIV exposure or transmission. Both
“willful” and “negligent” exposure and transmission are liable to prosecution,
with a maximum prison sentence of six years for “willful” exposure or transmission
and three years for “negligent” exposure or transmission.

The law is currently in the process of being revised by the so-called
Syse-committee (named after its chair, Professor Syse but officially titled The Norwegian Law Commission on penal code and communicable diseases hazardous to public health), but at the moment, the current law stands. At least seventeen
individuals have been prosecuted since 1999 – and until this year all prosecutions were as a result of heterosexual sex despite the fact
that most HIV transmission in Norway is the result of sex between men.

Earlier this year, Norwegian prosecutors decided to prosecute the first gay man under this draconian law. Although transmission had been alleged, phylogenetic analysis ruled out Louis Gay's virus as the source of the complainant's infection. Still, he is being prosecuted for placing another person at risk despite the only possible risk being unprotected oral sex, and despite Louis disclosing his HIV-positive status prior to any sex (which the complainant denies).

Louis decided to go public in November 2011 during the initial police investigation. Since then he has given interviews to some of the largest circulation newspapers and magazine in Norway, as well as to national TV and radio.
I had the pleasure of meeting Louis in Oslo in February when he addressed the civil society caucus that produced the Oslo Declaration.

As well as his own blog, Louis now also blogs about his experience for POZ.com. In his second post he notes that

I chose to go public before any final decision was made from the State attorney office, with the chance of provoking them to prosecute me because they don't want to risk being criticized by media of giving in to pressure. This is fine with me. Like I've stated before I want to have my case tried before a court. Anyway! Now we all have to wait until the trial before we get any further answers about my case. In the meantime the discussion whether we should have a law like this (and using it like in my case) is protecting the society from more infections or just making it worse, continues.

Then
it is a paradox that the social-liberal Norway still has an
HIV-paragraph that is criminalizing HIV-positive people's sexuality.
This has now been brought to a head by the public prosecutor who has
brought charges against HIV-positive Louis Gay, who has not infected any
other person and who conducted what we call "safer sex", which in
reality is the health authorities' recommendations. I am aware that
Syse-committee is now working on this issue, but it is still necessary
to highlight this in this debate, because current criminal law works
against prevention strategy and stigmatize HIV-positive people. I hope
that today's debate could be the start of that we again have a strong
political commitment to reducing new infections of HIV and to improve
the lives of those who are HIV-positive - which in reality are two sides
of the same coin."
(Unofficial translation by Louis Gay)

I'm so impressed with Louis's courage and determination, and I think that he actually might just be making a difference by going public. If you support Louis, let him know by leaving a comment here, or on his own blog, or at POZ.com.

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comments:

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About this blog

This blog is now incorporated into new HIV Justice Network website which is intended to be a global information and advocacy hub for individuals and organisations working to end the inappropriate use of the criminal law to regulate and punish people living with HIV. There you will find the latest news and cases, searchable by date, country, and case type, plus all kinds of advocacy resources (including video). The information on the website is also classified by 25 topics, under six headings: Advocacy; Alternatives; Impact; Law Enforcement; Laws and Policies; and Science.

The new HIV Justice Network website incorporates all the posts from my blog, Criminal HIV Transmission, which I began in 2007. Little did I know at the time that it would become an important global resource, filling a much-needed gap by capturing what is happening in real time. It was only when I attended AIDS 2008 in Mexico City, and discovered how many people knew of me and my work, that I realised how useful a resource it had become for advocates, researchers, lawyers and others from all over the world.

Knowing that the blog served as an international information and advocacy hub placed enormous pressure on my time and personal resources. Until the beginning of 2012, the blog and its associated advocacy work received no funding – save the few wonderful individuals who donated via Paypal and a small grant from IPPF (thank you!). So I’m very grateful to The Monument Trust for its generous support which has allowed me to sustain, develop and expand the blog into the HIV Justice Network. I’d also like to thank Kieran McCann and Thomas Paterson from NAM, who designed and developed the site, as well as NAM’s Executive Director, Caspar Thompson, for his support and guidance.

HIV and the Criminal Law

This international resource, HIV and the Criminal Law, which I wrote and edited for NAM, is available as an A5 book and at www.aidsmap.com/law. To order your copy visit www.aidsmap.com/law, or contact NAM at +44 (0)20 7840 0050, email: info@nam.org.uk If you are based in a low or lower middle income country, as defined by the World Bank, and would like a free copy of this book please contact NAM.

Why Criminalisation Matters

Click on the image above to listen to Sean Strub, Catherine Hanssens, Vanessa Johnson and I discuss why HIV criminalisation in the US is a major issue for public health and human rights. The panel took place in February 2011 as part of the eQuality Thinking virtual convention.

Funders Concerned About AIDS

I delivered the keynote address, 'Combating HIV Criminalization at Home & Abroad', to the annual gathering of US-based HIV funders in Washington DC in December 2010. Video of my presentation is now available. Visit the FCAA website to watch it online.

Criminalisation of HIV Exposure and Transmission: Global Extent, Impact and The Way Forward

This meeting by and for advocates against the criminalisation of HIV nondisclosure, exposure and non-intentional transmission was held on July 18th 2010 prior to AIDS2010 in Vienna and co-organised by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the Global Network of People Living with HIV and NAM.

This poster presented to the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna in July 2010, highlights how the US criminal justice system routinely breaches international human rights standards [click on the image to download an interactive pdf file]